Ancient, medieval, Islamic and world history -- comments, resources and discussion.

Monday, March 24, 2008

The tide goes in, the tide goes out

In the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the first national election has replaced the monarchy with a democratic government. The originator of this movement is the last-but-one king Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who according to the Washington Post,

had taken methodical steps to give power to the people, saying that he believed no leader should be "chosen by birth instead of merit."

He also launched a movement called Gross National Happiness,a" development philosophy of grass-roots health, education and environmental programs."

The election turn-out was high. Good luck, Bhutan.

In the meantime in the United States of America, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has proposed that the country needs not only a Commander-in-Chief but a Commander-in-Chief of the economy. An excerpt from a Philadelphia speech reported at Talkingpointsmemo.com:

So we need a president who can restore our confidence, a president who is ready to confront complex economic problems with comprehensive solutions, a president who will act at the first signs of trouble, working with experts to identify the problem, with agencies to adapt regulations, with Congress to pass necessary legislation, working to prevent crises rather than just reacting too little too late. We need a president who is ready on day one to be Commander-in-Chief of our economy.